Where to Eat in Vienna: My Personal Recommendations

I lived in Vienna for almost ten years, long enough to explore its dining scene in depth and to see how the city balances tradition with quiet modernity. These are my personal favourites: a mix of modern Viennese cuisine, Michelin-level dining, and authentic local institutions.

I originally compiled this list when a friend planning a trip to Vienna asked for my recommendations on where to dine.

Restaurant Vestibül

Modern Viennese food + classics

Located in one of the side wings of the Burgtheater, the dining room is magnificent marble columns, high ceilings, and a sense of imperial grandeur. The cuisine reinterprets Viennese classics with elegance and restraint. Service is polished but relaxed. One of my favourite places for modern Viennese cooking.
(Last visited a few months ago and it is still excellent.)

Steirereck im Stadtpark

Tasting menus, fine dining

One of just two Austrian restaurants with three Michelin stars, Steirereck stands as the country’s most recognised dining destination. Housed in the former Meierei in Vienna’s Stadtpark, the building has been transformed through contemporary architecture into a light-filled, modern setting that frames a refined, contemporary expression of Austrian cuisine. For a deeper look, you may read my full Steirereck review.

The tasting menus are deeply rooted in Austrian ingredients and traditions, interpreted with extraordinary finesse and technical mastery. Reservations can be difficult (lunch is usually easier), but the experience is formal, elegant, and consistently exceptional.

For a relaxed version, visit the Meierei next door, perfect for lunch.
Steirereck also operates a countryside restaurant about 90 minutes from Vienna, a beautiful hideaway.

Mraz & Sohn

Avant-garde tasting menu

Creative, daring and precise, Markus Mraz and his son Lukas represent the young, experimental side of Austrian gastronomy. Expect a bold, witty tasting menu served in a modest part of town. One of Vienna’s most exciting dining experiences.

Plachutta Wollzeile

Classic Viennese dishes

The institution for traditional Viennese cuisine: Tafelspitz, Wiener Schnitzel, veal goulash. Busy and a bit hurried, but execution is flawless. Go for lunch and taste Vienna’s culinary heritage at its best.

TIAN

Vegetarian fine dining

Vienna’s Michelin-starred vegetarian restaurant. Inventive tasting menus centered around vegetables and natural wines. Elegant presentation, thoughtful combinations, a refreshing contrast to the city’s meat-centric traditions.

Rote Bar & Grüne Bar – Hotel Sacher

Classic Austrian haute cuisine

Step back to fin-de-siècle Vienna with chandeliers, heavy drapery, and formality frozen in time. Go to the Grüne Bar for the contemporary tasting menu refined, precise, and beautifully presented and to the Rote Bar for more traditional dishes of Viennese cuisine, served in one of the most atmospheric dining rooms in the city. It’s the Viennese counterpart to dining at the Ritz in London.

Grünauer Gasthaus

Neighbourhood cooking

A genuine local Beisl: unpretentious, consistent, unchanged for decades.
Grünauer serves classic Viennese comfort dishes with quiet confidence.
Ideal for a relaxed evening among locals.

Closing thoughts

Vienna has countless places to eat, but these are the ones I actually recommend to friends and colleagues. Each shows the city at its best, grounded in craft and character.

If you are looking for Michelin-style experiences, I would also recommend two-star Doubek and the three-star Amador. Both deliver precise, ambitious cooking and polished service, though they feel a little more international than Viennese.

Tags: Vienna, Austria, Recommended, Restaurants